Chapter 1 : Lizard, Goldilocks, Yuu, and a Scarecrow.

A small girl was sitting in the middle of a burnt forest, her eyes wide and alert to the noise around her. Or lack thereof. Her bright red eyes darted to and fro, while her short, choppy blood red hair swished and swayed with each turn of her head. The smell of burnt wood lingered in the air, accompanied with the occasional charred wood splintering on its own.

At first glance, one would think of her to be a normal little red-headed girl. But upon closer inspection, you can see two small, dark red horns jutting out of her head.

"What- Oh my goodness… What happened here?" The child looked around to find the source of the voice, turning to stare at a pretty young woman with wavy black hair that ended at her waist.

She wore a simple purple sundress accompanied with a pair of black flats and a black ribbon tied in her hair. On her head were a pair of dark purple cat ears. If one had laid his eyes on her, they would truly think that she was breathtaking.

A hand was over her mouth as she surveyed the damage done to the forest. The child got up from her kneeling position as the woman's purple eyes landed on her.

The girl was frail and too thin for the woman's liking, and she's certain that a girl around her age shouldn't be that skinny. The bushes behind the woman rustled, revealing a toned and muscled man that was only taller than her by a few inches.

His choppy, medium-length hair was as dark as the woman's, although the cat ears he had were a slate blue. His eyes were only a shade darker than his cat ears, even though they seemed to stand out a bit more due to his white unbuttoned shirt and black pants. Covering his feet were matching black shoes that clearly didn't have enough detail for the small girl to keep staring at them.

The girl's eyes darted between the two before she took a hesitant step backwards. The cat woman's eyes widened just a bit before she stretched out an arm to her.

"W-wait!" The woman quickly glanced at her companion before her attention was back to the girl. "Do… Do you know what happened here? And where are your parents? Aren't they worried?" The child only tilted her head at her questions. Her mouth slowly opened as her soft voice trickled out.

"All I remember was that it was really hot… A-and I wanted it to stop… I don't know where my mummy and daddy are, they- they were just with me and then it got r-really hot..." the girl was sniffling every now and then, the tears in her eyes threatening to spill over. Nonetheless, she continued, "I-I didn't know what was going on, b-but daddy said that everything would be fine… B-but when I woke up everything was burnt and mummy and daddy weren't around anymore…!" It was then that the floodgates opened and she began wailing loudly.

The woman had a small, sad smile on her face as she slowly walked to the child. She leaned down in front of her, gathering her in her arms as she gently rubbed circles on her back. The girl hiccuped multiple times, the feeling of being alone without her parents overwhelming her. She had cried for a good couple of minutes before slowly slipping into sleep. The cat lady gently picked her up in her arms, carrying her to her companion. Her eyes were on the girl's tear-stained face the entire time as the man quickly wiped off a tear rolling down her cheek.

"What should we do, Grace?"

"I… I want to take her in, Aoi. Until her parents find her." The man named Aoi sighed at that. "Just- just look at her, Aoi! She won't survive on her own! She's… She's just a child!" She argued frantically, making sure to keep an eye on the volume of her voice since she doesn't want to wake up the girl. Aoi gave Grace a peck on the cheek after a considerable amount of time, gently rubbing the child's small hand before a smile illuminated his face.

"She'll need a nice, warm bath and lots of hot food, Grace. Think you can handle that?" Grace only returned his smile with one of her own as they began walking back to their home.

"I'll be done with it before you can even get to the halfway mark in the current book that you're reading!"

Cera Vermilion looked around her as the principal spoke through the microphone at the podium. To think that she would be here at last; Beacon Academy. She didn't feel as nervous as most of the kids that she could see, but maybe that was just because she was a Faunus. Cera just wanted this to be a quick four years; go to classes, do homework, do missions with her team. She didn't want to socialize, even if her parents told her to "play nice" and to "not be antisocial". Her arms crossed over her chest as she let out a small huff.

Her hair had grown longer as it now reached to the small of her back, bangs cut straight and neatly across her forehead as they were long enough to hide most of her eyebrows. Gone were the large, doe eyes as they had gotten sharper over the years of training and education. She now stood at a height of 5'5", her body toned and slightly tanned. Of course, her horns and tail have gotten larger and longer, but that was normal for someone like her to the point where there really was no need to comment on it.

Cera's outfit, of course, had also changed. She now had on a black tank top with an unzipped crop leather jacket in white layered over it, and if one looked at the back of her leather jacket they would find her emblem; a maroon silhouette of a dragon's head with a ring around it, the horns slightly poking out of the circumference of it. A pair of black combat boots reached just underneath her knees, most of it covered in what looked to be gold armor. The same type of armor could be seen on the shoulders of her jacket, and on her white gloves as they resembled gauntlets. A thin, black ribbon was loosely wrapped around her neck multiple times, creating a makeshift necklace of some sorts. Finishing her outfit is a thin, gold chain in the same manner of her ribbon on her right side and a rather large two-handed nodachi attached to her back.

The redhead glanced around her at the various students. She wasn't sure on what to think, especially when there were this many people. Are all of them newcomers?

"Hey, girly! With the horns!" Her eyes shifted towards the direction of the voice, her body turning slightly as a single eyebrow was raised.

The boy had choppy platinum blonde hair and piercing amber eyes. He was taller than Cera by a few centimeters, his tan and muscled body slightly darker than her own. His eyes were sharp, an air of charisma around him as the smirk on his lips was plastered onto him for what seemed like an eternity.

He was wearing a baggy lime green sweater with a white t-shirt on underneath, his hands and fingers wrapped in a roll of bandages. A black leather choker was around his neck, along with multiple black and gold bangles around his wrists that clink against each other whenever he moved. Black sneakers and baggy black jeans with a touch of silver armor on either side of his legs finished his ensemble, although there was also the fact that Cera had to factor in the large, crescent-shaped weapon with a handle being carried around as if it was a guitar case on his right shoulder.

She placed a hand on her hip, the eyebrow still raised as she waited for what he wanted to say to her. Of course, if he was taking too long she would go back to observing the people around her.

"Do you have a team?" Cera blinked at the question. Couldn't he see that she didn't want to be in one? She opened her mouth to give him her reply, but closed it as soon as a gloved fist smacked him over the head. "O-ow! What was that for, Nero?!" The blonde shouted, his heated glare on another male.

The man- who she assumed to be 'Nero' -had white hair that was slightly curly at the ends of a few strands. His bangs were swept to the right, unlike the blonde's whose hair was swept to the left. His eyes were also sharp and were a piercing blue, although he had longer lashes. Cera wasn't sure about his build due to his outfit, but she can clearly see that he had a strong jawline and a silver cross earring piercing with an ear cuff attached to it by a thin chain on his right ear.

All that Cera could see from his outfit was a black trench coat, black skinny jeans and black boots that had their tips covered with a silver plating of some sort along with a pair of white gloves. Her eyebrows furrowed. Where was his weapon?

"You shouldn't ask strangers if they want to join our team, Orel. Plus, we're not even sure if they will allow teams to be made." His voice was deep, almost charming. She wouldn't be surprised if he had a group of girls crowding him in the near future. The blonde- who is now known as 'Orel' –guffawed and crossed his arms over his chest.

"Well at least I'm not the one that looks like a stranger! Come on, Nero, a black trench coat?! You might as well grab a fedora, tip it and say 'milady' to every girl you make eye contact with!" Nero frowned at that.

"It gives off a mysterious vibe."

"What mysterious vibe?! All I'm getting is a drug dealer vibe from you!" Cera merely shook her head at the scene before walking off. The principal had long finished his speech, and she was supposed to go find the ballroom and bring along her sleeping bag. Then there was also getting ready for some sort of initiation the next day in the morning.

It slightly irked her.

Cera lightly scratched at her cheek. She wasn't sure what to make of the other newcomers, let alone if she was going to even get along with them.

Multiple footsteps were heading her way as she walked into the ballroom to set up her sleeping bag in the corner, her eyebrow slightly raised as she looked behind her. Her face was deadpanned.

"Oh! It's the lady with the horns!" Orel shouted out rather happily, a large grin on his face before he decided to pounce on his already messy sleeping bag. Nero only let out a small sigh as he leaned against the entrance to the ballroom.

"I'm certain that she has a name, just like everybody else." He walked over to the girl as he held out his gloved right hand, the faintest of smiles on his face. "I'm Nero Nightingale, and over there would be Orel Glorea. You are…?" The redhead looked up at him, uncertain. Nonetheless, she slowly lifted her left hand to grip his own in a modern handshake. She didn't want to be rude.

"...Cera. Cera Vermilion."

"Then it's a pleasure to meet you, Ms. Vermilion." Cera raised an eyebrow at that; Ms. Vermilion? "As you can tell, Ms. Vermilion, we do have another member with us. He's currently occupied with saying his farewells to his family."

Cera only nodded her head ever so slightly in understanding. She didn't have that many people to say goodbye to when she left for Beacon, as it was only her mother, father, and the unborn little sister she was going to have. The redhead didn't go out much. She thought that there was no need for it since all she did was sit in her father's library and read to her heart's content.

It didn't do much for her except turn her into a shut-in. She thought back to staring at the kids that were her age playing outside whenever she was in the library. None of them had the same horns as her, or even the same tail. All they had were either floppy ears and a short fluffy tail or some soft pointed ears or an alluring tail that swished this way and that. Before she even got to know the kids she felt like an outcast.

Now here she was, being plummeted into an academy with multiple different races, multiple different species, and multiple different personalities. Cera was as uncomfortable as she was going to get, if not a little more.

"Sorry I'm late! Grandmother decided to give me tons of sweets for good luck." The three of them turned their heads to the door frame as Orel's eyes lit up in recognition.

"Yukio! Your grandma better have taken into account that you'll be in a team with three other people!" 'Yukio' let out a small laugh, a smile on his face as he scratched the back of his head.

"I'm sure she did, Orel."

Yukio was slightly taller than Nero with fair skin, his black hair held up in a high ponytail as it ended at his shoulders. His charcoal eyes were soft as they held a certain warmth to them, making Cera feel at ease for some unknown reason. His bangs were chopped and styled to make it look like he was filling in certain gaps on his face such as his forehead or in-between his eyebrows, but it didn't bother her that much. She practically did the same with her own bangs, except with her forehead.

He wore what looked to be an unbuttoned dark blue military jacket with a light blue plaid shirt underneath. White jeans and a pair of dark brown dress shoes along with a thin silver chain around his neck made him seem like a very desired man. Surely he knew what they would be facing?

His eyes landed on Cera as he walked over to them, carrying a wooden box that looked to be filled to the brim with sweets of all kinds. Yukio quickly set down the box on the ground, his right hand free to give her a handshake. She gave him the same handshake that she gave Nero earlier, her eyes wandering to what looked to be a staff on his back. He only gave a small chuckle as she continued observing.

"Ms. Vermilion, this is Yukio Akashi. Yukio, this is Cera Vermilion." Nero had given them a quick introduction, keeping in mind that Cera still needed to unpack her belongings.

"Well it's great to meet you, Cera. I've known Orel and Nero ever since we were kids, so it's understandable if you feel out of the loop."

Cera felt more than out of the loop as she saw the trio talk to each other with so much energy.

She felt like she didn't belong.

The redhead blinked as she saw the slight movement of Orel's hand, beckoning her to join them. She wasn't sure if she saw it correctly, and decided to wait a few more seconds as she listened to them continue their conversation. Her eyes blinked as she saw it again, her gaze trailing up to his face as he had a certain inviting aura around him. Cera had visibly gulped as she slowly walked to them, butterflies in her stomach fluttering about. She stood still in front of all of them, letting out a small cough as she crossed her arms under her breasts. Orel grinned as he smacked her on the back.

"See! Wasn't that hard, Lizard!" Cera's eye visibly twitched as she gave the blonde a weak glare.

"What kind of nickname is 'Lizard'?" She grumbled, obviously displeased by it.

Nero had only given her a polite smile as Yukio chuckled. The latter was occupied with watching over Orel as he was practically inhaling sweets which left Nero to give her his honest opinion. "Truthfully I find it a rather adorable nickname, Ms. Vermilion." She gave him a menacing glare, but he paid no mind to either of the actions. "Now then, shall we have our fill of sugar before Orel consumes all of it?"

Cera only pinched the bridge of her nose.

"Goldilocks can get a stomachache from eating too much for all I care, and should we really be eating this many sweets before sleeping?" Orel sputtered in the middle of enjoying some soft caramel.

"G-Goldilocks?!"

She didn't even like sweets.

It was well late into the night as Cera was in the middle of reading a book. She didn't have much to do as she couldn't sleep, especially with Orel snoring to his heart's content. Then there was also the fact that Nero and Yukio were still awake, their quiet conversation still ongoing despite the unconscious blonde.

Cera let out a small sigh as she placed her bookmark on the new chapter she turned to, closing it before leaving the book next to her sleeping bag. She wearily looked over to the two men that were awake, an eyebrow raised.

"Shouldn't you two be sleeping?" She half-whispered, her voice loud enough to get their attention but not loud enough to disturb other students. Nero only gave her a small smile while tilting his head.

"We do this every now and then, Ms. Vermilion. I apologize if it's something that will leave you awake for a while."

"What's there to talk about anyways…?" She mumbled. Surprisingly enough, Yukio was able to hear her question, as he beckoned her to join the two of them. The redhead crawled towards them, a questioning look on her face.

"Well, we were discussing about what we might encounter during our four years here. Have any ideas on what could happen, Cera?"

She took a moment to think about it. During her training with her father, she had it drilled into her head that anything can happen, even if it seems like everything is peaceful. Four years was an awfully long time, but it was understandable. You couldn't become a Huntsman in just one day.

"...Anything can happen in the time spam of four years, whether it's good or bad things. We just have to keep our eyes out for anything suspicious or dangerous." The two males let out a small laugh, to which Cera had glared at them. "What are you laughing at?"

Nero shook his head, the smile still evident on his face. "We're not laughing at you or anything at all, Ms. Vermilion. It's just that you sounded as if you're already a Huntress, yet here you are at Beacon Academy with everybody else aspiring to become one."

At this point, Cera had already crawled back to her sleeping bag, curling up into a ball on her side with puffed cheeks. She didn't care if Orel was still snoring loudly. She would try to sleep with it going on no matter what.

"Good night, Cera."

It wasn't until Yukio and Nero had gotten into their sleeping bags that Cera decided to reply.

"...Good night, Yuu, Scarecrow."

Low chuckles were heard before all was silent with the exception of the snoring.

Trivia :

- The title of this story is Russian for "Dragon's Roar".

- Cera's casual theme is an orchestrated version of 'Connect' from Puella Magi Madoka Magica.

- Orel's casual theme is 'Last Train Home' from Anohana.

- Nero's casual theme is an instrumental version of 'I Left You Not Sure If I Did' from Anohana.

- Lastly, Yukio's casual theme is the piano version of 'Desiderium' from Puella Magi Madoka Magica.